a doctor tries to practice what she preaches to lose weight

Help summer time is here! Ok it’s technically spring but I live in California. The back yard parties are in full swing. The wine & tequila are flowing. Not to mention chips & dip. You would think summer time means more exercise and lighter meals but not for me. It means it will be too hot to due anything by July. If you don’t exercise in the morning forget it until 7 pm. Lucky for me Thai Kwon Do is at 7:30. It also means I must practice mindful eating especially at all these parties I plan to attend this summer. I love to party. I’ve lost 35 lbs in this journey. It’s slow but it’s not a race. I plan in loosing 20 more pounds. I will not let summer stop me. It on now ! Me vs summer.

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Ok that was a long break. I’m not sure I’m back to blogging on a regular basis. We will see. What I neglected to say in my last post is my 86 y/o father committed suicide . I can do a whole blog on that! I’m still in my I don’t want to talk about it phase! We were very close so it’s has been painful and peaceful all at the same time. Peaceful because I believe he is not in pain anymore.
Now back to my weight loss. I’ve had a plateau for a while but now I can say I have lost more weight. I’m down 35 lbs since I started this journey. It’s not because I’m not eating. Usually I gain when stressed. I gained 50 lbs after my mom died. Still doing tai kwon do. Testing for brown advance next week. Yeah me! This has been a great stress reliever for me. Still dairy free. I had a latte last week that I thought was soy and it wasn’t. Oh wow! I blew my family out the bedroom with the gas from that.
I cut down on gluten but can’t say I’m gluten free. I avoid gluten free products for the most part just adding more beans, nuts and seeds to diet. I can feel the difference. I ate a biscuit the other day and I was hungry all day. Well that’s my update. Please no comments on my fathers death, grief etc. I seriously don’t want to talk about it;)

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Ok I hit the wrong button. I’m taking a blogging break. My dad died;( I could write about stress eating and restaurant food. I’ve done all to much of that in the last 2 weeks but I won’t. I just want to get back to my routine. Now I’m in the people making me eat phase. I will not gain the weight back like I did after my mom died. My dad was 86 and I’m blessed to have him as long as I did. Rest in peace dad. I love you always .

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Fall is my time of year. I live in a warm part of California and I get so excited at the first sign of fall. I’m so tired of being hot!!! All I want to do in summer is stay in air condition. I find it easier to exercise when it’s cooler. I do better with exercise and eating this time of year. Not as many parties. Not as many excuses to avoid exercise. I’ve been on a weight loss plateau but I think I can break it now. I planned on starting running once it got cool but I hurt my foot. I will give it a few weeks. I can do my martial arts but it hurts to run. I am challenging myself to lose 10lbs and be able to run a 3k by the new year. Can I do it? I don’t want to fail in fall!!!

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I will say time and time again calories count. The new catch phrase is whole grains. Several times this week I heard “I eat whole grains. Why aren’t I losing weight ?” I will admit its good to eat whole grains. You still have to be conscious with your calories. If your eating too many calories your not going to lose weight. Whole grains are not a fat burner. I’ve lost weight before and my downfall is latching on to something I can’t keep up or making my diet so restrictive I give up. Not this time. I’m making permanent changes. I now prefer brown rice to white. Quinoa to mashed potatoes but I do know in the end calories count. Don’t let a diet myth stop you in your tracks!

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I can’t believe 4/5 doctors can’t estimate calories. In California restaurants put calories on the menu or in a booklet on the table. It’s a new law. It’s MA week so we took our Medical Assistants to Chili’s for lunch. Two doctors commented that another doc ordered a healthy lunch. It was a combo with 2 mini cheeseburgers and a salad. They estimated the calories at 500. Are you kidding me? You got mayo , cheese,buns,ground beef and salad dressing. I polled two other Doc’s and they thought it was lower in calories than their quesadilla. Wrong! It came out to 925 calories. I think calories on menu’s are a good thing. You see it is hard to estimate calories and portion size. When people tell me they eat healthy. I always ask them to actually do a three day diet history. It will surprise you! It surprises me. Next time we will check the calories before ordering.

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I’m lost. I hate to join the bandwagon on childhood obesity but It’s crazy. The sad thing is I don’t know what to do about. It. Weight loss is something you have to do for yourself. I can’t make you do it. You have to want to do it or in my case you have to want to make your child do it. I had a 278 lb 12 y/o female today. Mom told me they eat healthy and have dieted but she gained 18 pounds in the past year. I will check labs but I know that only accounts for a few of those pounds not the 100 plus she needs to lose. I am met with excuses constantly. Just today alone. “I can’t make them eat healthy”, “I have a day care and that means I have a lot of bag snacks around”, “I have too much homework”. “I told them they eat too much” this is from the parent easily weighing 300 pounds. I can offer classes, web sites, a personal health coach nutrition consult but I can’t be the angel on your shoulder telling you how to raise your kid or what to eat for every meal. I’m trying to lead by example. I have pictures of me exercising with my child in my exam room. I know my weight is a problem and I know why. It’s a constant battle I acknowledge. I admit its not easy but we have to be willing to at least start. I just want my patients and parents to realize its something they need to really work on. The future depends on it. Ok I’m done griping.